Hello again old friend, seems like we talk every week! Oh wait, we do. Time for another look at this past week in Carmel Basketball. Also, I know I’m late this week, chill out. Let’s dive in since you’re all mad at me.
WE HAVE THREE GAMES TO TALK ABOUT!
Let’s start with the Lawrence North game last Monday night. A game that was supposed to be played the week before, was moved to the next Monday because of snow issues. The rematch of last year’s state championship was hyped up enough to bring lots of fans to the Eric Clark Activity Center on a cold Monday night for a matchup with 4-star CJ Gunn and the Wildcats. What seemed like a game the Hounds would run away with was pulled extremely tight in the fourth quarter by Gunn and LN. First off before we break down anything in the game, we have to start by congratulating senior guard Pete Suder for scoring his 1000 point in the game! Suder had 33, YES, 33 points in this game. His career high was everything that the Greyhounds needed to pull this game out, and squeak out a home win over a tough LN team. Congrats Pete! Suder and the Hounds led 27-12 at half, and had held Gunn to just 2 points. A relatively neutral third quarter saw the Hounds extend things to a 46-29 lead at the end of the third. As I noted on air, it felt like the Hounds were about four minutes away from sticking the dagger in the game and ending it. It wasn’t until the fourth that legendary Coach Jack Keefer turned the ball to CJ Gunn and let him do his thing. Gunn and the Wildcats scored 32(!) fourth quarter points, and fell to the Hounds 68-61. The Greyhounds struggled once again in breaking the Wildcat press, and CJ Gunn completely took over the game for the Wildcats which led to their comeback effort. At one point it was a 3 point game with just a minute to go, and the Hounds looked nervous. A nervous Carmel team is not a good thing, as the Hounds have started panicking at times this year when teams start pressing. Individually, the Hounds were simply led by Pete Suder, and his 33 points, but in a game where he had ample size advantage, Charlie Williams helped out majorly with 11 points. Spencer White was also big for the Hounds, with 2 threes and a total of 8 points to push the Hounds to victory. White’s scoring was extremely helpful, and something the Hounds cannot rely on, but will love to have come postseason. To wrap up this game in one sentence: Pete Suder can carry the Hounds when he needs to. While the Hounds can’t rely on it, and don’t want to rely on it, Suder showed his senior leadership, and his overall ability, and willed the Hounds to a big home win.
Next up are the two blowout wins for the Greyhounds from this past weekend. We’ll start with HSE on Friday night. A packed house at Hamilton Southeastern didn’t seem to bother the Hounds as they got out to a hot start, and just did not look back. Heading into the game, the Hounds knew that they had a tough opponent in the paint with Reph Stevenson down there, but it didn’t seem to bother them one bit. It was the most well-blended scoring attack we have seen from the Hounds this year, and they certainly involved the bigs at a high level. Williams and Bonds both had 12 points from the Hounds with Bonds playing 23 minutes, and Williams playing just 20 due to foul trouble (bad calls). The Hounds were using the perfect mix of getting out and running on the Royals, and also slowing things down and working back into the paint. What was my favorite part of this game? The Hounds could not shoot from three to save themselves, and they still put up 59 points. The overall scoring? Orme led the way with 16 for the Hounds, and had 1 of the Hounds three pointers. Williams and Bonds chipped in 12 each, Suder and Dual kicked in 7 each, Whack punched in 4, and Weldy had 1 in the last minute. To wrap up this game in one sentence: Even though the Hounds can’t shoot at times, it doesn’t matter. This Carmel team is so multi-faceted that it reminds me of the Cline Era Greyhounds, but almost better. That team had one person (Ryan Cline) that could trigger from range, whereas this team has 3-4 guys who can shoot it at a high clip. The main point of both these teams? If shooters ran cold, the teams made up for it in getting down low and getting easier buckets.
Heading into the Fort Wayne Carroll game, everyone knew what was going to happen. The Hounds would win by 30 over a 1-17 team whose only win was over Bishop Luers. Carroll lacked shooters, slashers, bigs, and pretty much everything else. In their final home game, the seniors on the Hounds were ready to enjoy the game, and just get the job done. The mission was accomplished as the Hounds won 70-41. The game brought Suder as the leading scorer, with 14 points, but so many guys stepped up with high-single digit points. Dual, Whack, White, and Williams all chipped in 8 points, a good tally for all four of those guys. Orme had 7, and Bonds also contributed 6. The Greyhounds shot 10/23 from the three point arc, a 43% clip which is a great mark, and one they’ll aim for in the postseason. The best part of the game didn’t happen until the fourth quarter though, when student assistant Trevor Harris was sent to the locker room to dress, and came back out for his first ever varsity appearance. For a guy with the talent to play varsity at just about any other high school, it was an awesome moment to see him jog out to the roar of the crowd. First possession into the game, he had a catch-and-shoot three and the shot was BUTTER. Pure swish. Next on defense, he had a deflection, and got the ball back but missed his shot. Next possession, he got it back on the far wing, pulled up, and banged it again. 6 points in 2 minutes of action is a higher clip than most Hounds starters have had all season, and it was awesome to see Harris shoot his shots. A huge congratulations and thanks goes out to Harris for all his work in the Carmel Basketball program, and congratulations on the points. To wrap this game up in one sentence: A fun Saturday at the Eric Clark Activity Center wraps up the home season for the Greyhounds in an awesome way.
In conclusion, the Hounds clinched the MIC in a weekend where they didn’t play a MIC game, and have just one regular season game left. Except, wait a second. The Greyhounds added a surprise game for next Wednesday at 6:00pm against the La Lumiere Regional team, who should be an awesome opponent for the Hounds to get one more game in against. On to Warren Central tomorrow night…